85 – Walking Together Isn’t Against the Rules

“How weird—why are those two just standing there face to face? Aren’t they gonna fight?”

While the participants inside the Secret Realm were tense, the crowd watching the projection in the Grand Plaza was utterly baffled—especially those who had placed bets on either of the two.

“What’s the holdup? Even if they’re trash-talking each other, it shouldn’t take this long!”

The audience grew restless and began to heckle.

“Fight already! Why aren’t they fighting?!”

Of course, the competitors inside couldn’t hear them, but the crowd just wanted drama—some chaos to liven up the show.

Fight! Fight now! Nothing beats a catfight—and better if some clothes get ripped up too!

The tension between the two was thick. Teresa had her bow drawn, a glowing arrow aimed squarely at Wenfu’s slender, pale neck. Wenfu remained motionless, lips pressed together, her shimmering eyes locked on Teresa’s—waiting for a response.

The situation left many scratching their heads. But for those familiar with Wenfu, it wasn’t hard to guess what she was doing.

At Coleman Academy, the most popular among male students was Astrid, who was beloved across genders. The one who rivaled her in universal appeal was Felicia. But among Divine Princesses, the one with the most support was Wenfu.

Divine Children or other classes might not care much for Wenfu’s Divine Authority, but any Divine Princess, regardless of gender, found it irresistible.

Just like Divine Princesses were classified into roles based on their Domains and Divine Authorities, priest-type Divine Princesses were further divided into two categories: healing and buffing.

Wenfu was the top-tier of the buffing category. In that niche, she was effectively the Best of the Best. While most support-type Divine Authorities enhanced attack power, Wenfu’s could directly boost Divine Authority multipliers, which was extremely rare. Her power was universal—she could enhance Knight-type, Fortress-type, even other Priest-type Divine Princesses. And the magnitude of her buffs was considerable.

This made Wenfu a hot commodity in the Divine Princess community.

Her specialized Divine Authority meant she was never short of teammates. Just one wave of her arm and Divine Princesses would be lining up for a chance to form a party.

But Wenfu wasn’t the type to team up with just anyone.

A “top-tier” Divine Authority raised her standards—most couldn’t catch the eye of this cat-eared loli.

The reason her team didn’t include a Knight Divine Princess this time was simple: none of the ones who approached her met her expectations.

Other roles could be flexible, but for her, a Knight Divine Princess had to be top-class. That was non-negotiable.

Eventually, she pieced together what she considered a “full spec” team. Things started off smoothly, but as opponents grew stronger, the cracks began to show.

When they entered the finals, the lack of a Fortress and Knight meant the enemy broke through their formation. The Heavy Artillery and Ranger Divine Princesses on her team were immediately taken out. She only managed to escape using her Domain’s effect while the enemy was worn out.

It helped that it was a chaotic skirmish—the team that took out her allies was quickly engaged by another group and didn’t chase her.

Now, clinging to Teresa was simply a matter of survival. She had no better options.

Seeing Teresa remain unmoved, Wenfu bit her lip, her petite fangs showing. Her tiny fists clenched.

She’d already lowered herself far enough. Normally, others begged her. When had she ever had to beg someone else?

But she also understood—her “life or death” hung on Teresa’s bowstring.

She had set her goal on the top five. No way did she want to be eliminated right after breaking into the top ten.

Rank mattered. Even within the top ten, entry tiers differed. Top ten had one tier. Top five had another. Top three? Yet another level.

With her fate in someone else’s hands, Wenfu—though prideful—knew how to read the room.

“If you still don’t trust me, I’ll give you my token.”

With that, Wenfu held out her intact token with both hands, her eyes firm with resolve.

If everything before had just been verbal agreement, this act—handing over her token—meant Wenfu had truly surrendered her life to Teresa.

Even the audience was stunned.

“That won’t be necessary, Miss Silesse.”

The taut bowstring relaxed. Teresa lowered her bow and slung it across her back.

“...You're willing to team up with me?” Wenfu’s eyes shimmered with sudden, radiant hope.

“There’s no rule in the tournament allowing players from different teams to form an alliance,” Teresa said calmly. “Since this is a school event, we should follow the school’s rules, don’t you think?”

“Uuuh...” Wenfu’s head drooped. Even her cat ears slumped, like a dejected kitten.

“But,” Teresa continued, her voice now soft and elegant—a stark contrast to her earlier coldness, like a sudden warm breeze, “there’s also no rule forbidding two teams from walking together and not attacking each other.”

“Walking with Miss Silesse for a while—well, that’s not out of the question.”

“Thank you so very much!” Wenfu blinked, momentarily stunned. Then she beamed and bowed deeply to express her gratitude.

Teresa’s phrasing had been subtle, but Wenfu caught the meaning.

Everything they did was under scrutiny. A blatantly illegal team-up wouldn’t fly. The most they could do was not attack each other.

But two people walking side by side, not attacking each other while treating everyone else as enemies? That was teamwork in all but name.

Same effect—different words.

Wenfu was clever enough to grasp this immediately.

“Miss, I haven’t even asked your name yet.”

“We’re peers. There’s no need to use honorifics with me.”

Teresa smiled and took a step back, bowing gracefully. “Pleased to meet you, I’m Teresa. It’s an honor to meet you, Miss Silesse.”

“Miss Teresa... I see.” Wenfu softly repeated her name and fell into step beside the golden-haired girl.

By now, the audience had exploded into commotion.

“What the heck? They’re not gonna fight?”

“Not fight? Haven’t you figured it out? They’re teaming up.”

“Wait, is that even allowed? Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Against the rules? Don’t talk nonsense. If you actually read the tournament guidelines, you’d know better. Teresa and Wenfu are just walking together and not attacking each other. Who said they teamed up?”

While the audience buzzed, the judges were also discussing.

“Should we issue a warning?”

“No need,” said a white-bearded old instructor, smiling and waving his hand. “They’re just walking side by side and not attacking. No rule against that, right?”

Clearly, he found the two girls' actions quite amusing.

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